quilting, Uncategorized

Benartex & quilter meet up!

I’ve had a blast over the last year pattern testing and beginning designing for Benartex.  Eventually I am going to post linksto the quilts I’ve worked on however their website isn’t working correctly right now.  They know and are working on it.

Last Friday I headed into the City to meet with Mells Testa and Natalya Aikens…more on that later.  I contacted Susan Neill at Benartex and made arrangements to drop off a couple of quilts to them.

Here we are…Susan is in the back, Jenna her assistant is next to me and me.  The building they’re in is where I purchased my wedding dress ooooooh so many years ago…nice memory.

When I walked in David Lochner & Susan were talking so I met them both then had a bit of a quilt reveal in an office.  That part was so fun!

Since I usually send the quilts in I never get to see their reactions.  When quilts come in from designers or testers Susan make them wait to open the boxes until she get there.  I think that’s cool…she loves to be the first to see what gets accomplished with the fabrics!

I’m adding binding to a Benartex quilt here.  It’s one of the two that I delivered.  After I check with Susan I’ll post a couple of other shots of the two I delivered.

90% of the time I attach binding with the zipper foot.  Oh this makes it soooo easy!

Susan & Jenna gave me a tour of the offices and I got to meet a lot of the designers and saw some of the incredible fabrics that are coming down the line!  I can hardly wait they’re so pretty and masculine and feminine and unique and…and…that’s all I can say for now.

I had some time to waste before meeting with Mells and Natalya so I wandered around.  I have to say the City is one of the most interesting places.  The Holiday decor in the shop windows is amazing!  Bright colors and lots of lights.  I stopped in an art store across the street from FIT…they have an eclectic mix of  supplies that the students might need for their classes everything from rotary cutters, threads & mats to paints and pencils.  I picked up some Prismacolor pencils.  I’ve wanted some of these for a while and this was a great opportunity.

I met Mells Testa and Natayla Aikens at a restaurant in the City…yes, I do live in NY City but for anyone in the outer boroughs going to Manhattan is going into the City.   After lunch we headed over to FIT to see Night & Day an exhibit on womens clothing.   The exhibit is open – not behind glass – and to protect the clothing there are alarms that can be tripped if anyone gets too close.  Mells tripped the alarm quite frequently.  She would lean in to get a closer look at something and beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.  Then too her backpack kept leaping out and whacking me…

Natalya had to catch a particular train at Grand Central so we went with her to walk around a holiday gift fair that is hosted there.  My goodness if you need a unique, unusual gift this is the place to go!  Next time I head into the City I’m heading over to one of the shops to get some smoked tea.  The tea has an actual name that when I hear it I know what it is, the gal at the booth knew exactly what I wanted and told me they carry it in their shop.

Have a Merry Christmas all!

Teri

PS I’ll post my teaching schedules at Hartsdale and the quilt cottage this weekend!

4 thoughts on “Benartex & quilter meet up!”

  1. Teri – You have been really busy and having so many great experiences. I want to take your hand quilting class!! What a fun time you had at Benartex. How great to see new fabric before it hits the stores. Good luck on that Bernina 820. If anyone should have it, it’s you. Have a fun, adventurous and successful new year. Carolyn in Kerrville, TX

  2. I tried your zipper foot topstitch on my first quilt binding today and it was GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! Thanks for the hot tip. Vs. doing a zigzag for blanket stitch, I wanted to do a basic top stitch and finish my project (mostly because I’m ready to move on!)but also because I wanted something that would hold really well.
    Thanks & Happy New Year! WendyB, ThatSeamsFun.com

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